St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

1 Jn 3: 22 – 4: 6

And we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.

Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved­translation

God Will Provide

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native­born American saint, wrote to a friend after the death of her husband: “God will provide, that is all my Comfort, never did that providence fail me.” St. Elizabeth suffered many tragedies in her life, including the death of her mother, husband, and several children. Through all these heartbreaks she relied on God’s comfort and was called to use her gifts in service to those most in need.

In today’s first reading we hear, “We receive from him whatever we ask.” St. Elizabeth wholeheartedly embraced this simple line which most of us can only hope is true. As we continue to celebrate the Epiphany, let us spend time in prayer, asking God to give us the gifts we need to serve him more faithfully and experience his loving comfort.

—Fr. Tom Neitzke, S.J. is President of Creighton Prep, Omaha, NE.

Prayer

Lord God, you blessed Elizabeth Seton with gifts of grace
as wife and mother, educator and foundress.
She spent her life in service to your people.
May we learn to express our love for you in our own love for one another.
Amen!

St. Ignatius’s First Principle and Foundation says “The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit.” One of the ways in which we respond to the love God has given us is through prayer, not only personal prayer but community prayer as well.
The Pastoral Ministry Center invites members of our Strake Jesuit Community to share their prayers with us: their concerns, joys, thanksgivings, so that we may walk with them in all these times of their lives.

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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

1 Jn 3: 22 – 4: 6

And we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.

Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved­translation

God Will Provide

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native­born American saint, wrote to a friend after the death of her husband: “God will provide, that is all my Comfort, never did that providence fail me.” St. Elizabeth suffered many tragedies in her life, including the death of her mother, husband, and several children. Through all these heartbreaks she relied on God’s comfort and was called to use her gifts in service to those most in need.

In today’s first reading we hear, “We receive from him whatever we ask.” St. Elizabeth wholeheartedly embraced this simple line which most of us can only hope is true. As we continue to celebrate the Epiphany, let us spend time in prayer, asking God to give us the gifts we need to serve him more faithfully and experience his loving comfort.

—Fr. Tom Neitzke, S.J. is President of Creighton Prep, Omaha, NE.

Prayer

Lord God, you blessed Elizabeth Seton with gifts of grace
as wife and mother, educator and foundress.
She spent her life in service to your people.
May we learn to express our love for you in our own love for one another.
Amen!